Image courtesy of splashdata One of the biggest problems with having your entire life online these days is  protecting your privacy and security. Most websites now have pretty strict security guidelines and password requirements to authenticate logins and ensure you really are who you say you are. One of the biggest complaints I get from my users at work is that they simply cannot remember all of their passwords and find themselves resetting them often or stashing cheat sheets with all their login info. SplashData came up with a pretty simple solution that securely holds all of your passwords and login information, and only requires you to remember 1 password. The Splash ID Key Safe is a super… Continue reading on Gear Diary …

I love Slacker Radio. I love the way it reintroduced me to the music I loved as a kid. I love the fact that it now caches radio stations for Slacker Plus subscribers. And I love the fact that it now runs in the background on iDevices running iOS 4.0. And just last night searching for one song by the Australian group Divinyls led to an hour or so of revisiting other music I loved years ago and had since forgotten. Well, now Slacker has something new for all you news hounds. Slacker just announced that they have added ABC News to their lineup. The addition provides access to a dedicated news… Continue reading on Gear Diary …

Zoom’s H1 Handy Recorder is small. How small? Here’s a picture of it in hand… In fact it is small enough to mount right on a camera. Despite its size the H1 records big sound. As the company explains… Like all Zoom recorders, the H1’s onboard microphones are configured in an X/Y pattern, for stunning stereo imaging. Because both mics are arranged on the same axis, they are equidistant from the sound source for perfect localization and no phase shifting. The result is great stereo Continue reading on Gear Diary …

I’ve seen a lot of iPod and iPhone docks that do more than just charge the device.  My Griffin Simplifi contains both memory card reader as well as a USB hub along with its 30-pin dock connector which charges and syncs the iPhone or iPod.  I’ve also seen docks with hard drives built it and others with clocks or radios. But the tlight is the first dock I’ve seen that not only doubles as a light but also charges your laptop and other mobile device too. The tLight series features a special port for charging all types of iPod and iPhone products from Apple.  The port is located… Continue reading on Gear Diary …

“Oh God; a car just ran down my iPhone 4!  I only got it yesterday!”  Hey, relax there!  You’re iPhone 4 is fine, fine!  It’s just the new look for iPhone 4 cases from our friends at USBFever. One of the things I love about the case industry these days is how imaginative they’re getting.  Everything from high-end Alligator-skin coverings to embedded silver and diamonds to DIY skins made of found objects.  I dig it.  And USBFever has the spirit with one of this week’s release:  the Tire-look hardback cover case.  Check it out, along with the rest of their offerings for the week: Mini Sim to Micro Sim Trimmer / Cutter Continue reading on Gear Diary …

There’s no question that Motorola’s DROID X is one of the hot new Android-powered phones this summer. Heck, it is one of the hot new phones this summer PERIOD. With its huge 4.3″ display, 1 GHz processor, 3G Mobile HotSpot capability and 3 microphones for superb noise cancellation it is ready to get to work. And with its powerful 8MP camera with dual flash and HDMI Output it is ready to entertain and astound too. And the initial reviews say it all… people love it. The DROID X has an MSRP of $599.99. With contract you can get it for $199.99. And although it is just released our Gear Sponsor has already tracked down a deal that will save… Continue reading on Gear Diary …

Bluelounge makes a variety of products that are sophisticated as much they are simple. Most of their items offer unique and interesting ways to organize the home or office. Just recently announced, their CableBox Mini, which is a successor to their popular CableBox, allows for multiple grounded electronic devices to be grouped together into a single power source. Power strips are a dime a dozen and most home offices have at least one. While the generic power strip functions well it looks awful. If it can’t be hidden away inside a cabinet or behind a work station its ugly form is often left exposed for all to see. Couple that with the dangers… Continue reading on Gear Diary …

Come on, admit it, somewhere along the line you thought for a fleeting moment “You know, a thin, strategically placed band-aid might fix the iPhone 4′s woes!” But then you didn’t do anything with the idea. Well someone has acted on it and you can now fix up to six iPhone 4′s for just $4.99. That’s right, for just $4.99 you can get six of these cute, Bandaid-looking strips that, when placed just right, might help eliminate the antennuation problem some are encountering with the iPhone 4. Personally I kind of prefer the subtle black of the skin I recently… Continue reading on Gear Diary …

Anyone who is a parent knows the struggle of keeping your wonderful kiddos on top of their chores.  As the father of two young and arguably crazy boys, it seems that we could spend the entire day cleaning up their messes.  There are many strategies to getting the younglings to take care of their chores and I think I have tried them all.  The problem in my house is not getting the kids to help out but more of them cleaning up then dragging out a different room full of toys five minutes later.  They seem to not mind helping out most of the time but keeping them focused on the big picture is… Continue reading on Gear Diary …

Seagate has just announced their new GoFlex Home network storage system. When connected to a wireless router the GoFlex Home lets everyone on that network store and share files. It also allows for the continuous backup of files from all computers on the network. The system is compatible with both Windows and Mac OSX and also allows wireless streaming of photos, movies and music to most network connected devices. The GoFlex system has another trick up its sleeve in the form of a premium service the Seagate Share Pro remote access service. The Seagate Share Pro allows families to access content stored on the drive from mobile devices such as an iPhone®, iPad™ or Continue reading on Gear Diary …

As much as I am really an iPhone kinda guy, that doesn’t mean that I don’t want there to be competition in the smartphone/PDA arena–if Microsoft has proven anything over the years, it’s that Monopolies Are Bad.  So I’m glad to see that SwiftKey is now available in Beta for the Android platforms.  A quick typing program developed by TouchType Ltd. of England, SwiftKey makes your typing experience on a small screen ‘way less onerous.  So if you’re interested, you should ring up  the TouchType folks: SwiftKey – Welcome to the typing revolution. Find out more at www.swiftkey.net TouchType is a limited company registered in England and Wales. Registered Continue reading on Gear Diary …

Those sleepless folks at USBFever have done it again; this time their new product, the WaterWear case for you iPad (or other tablet PCs), is basically a sleeve-type case which adds water-proofness.  Yup, you can keep your iPad (and, I repeat, other tablet PCs) clean, dry, and dust free with this baby.  It also comes with a shoulder strap for improved lugability.  You know you need it–i’s summer.  You’re going to the beach, or the lake, or SplashMountain, or (if you’re lucky and in range) Schlitterbahn.  You need to protect your sweet, sweet toy.    So surf on over and check it out.  Available for an MSRP of $49.99. Full information below. This Continue reading on Gear Diary …

Barnes and Noble has always bragged about their 1 million+ books in their ebook library, but that number is heavily inflated by public domain free novels. Now B&N is heading back to the classic novels to promote nook books yet again. This time they’re offering “themed collections of classic ebooks” all summer long. It’s a neat idea to group classic novels together for downloads, but if you miss out this isn’t the end of the world. All of the novels listed in the press release as examples are what’s known as public domain. This means the copyrights have expired, and numerous sites, from B&N to Project Gutenberg, offer them for free, 365 days a year. So… Continue reading on Gear Diary …

We start the week with a Gear Deal on the Lenovo IdeaPad U460. The U460 is a 14″ laptop featuring Intel Core i3, 4GB RAM, and 500GB HDD standard. At 3.53lbs it is a lightweight laptop that offers some serious multitasking power and storage and, thanks to its Intel HD graphics, has enough of power for you to enjoy HD video on the beautiful 14″ 1366×768 display. The base specs on the U460 include an Intel Core i3-350M, 4GB RAM, a 500GB HDD, Intel HD graphics, a 14″ 1366×768 LED display, 6-cell battery and Windows 7 Home Premium. Upgrading to the available Core i5 processor and dedicated GPU will significantly improve performance. The base… Continue reading on Gear Diary …

In what seems like a constant move towards more and more social networking and information sharing, software hacker Chris Beauchamp is offering a new music/social sharing app:  iShareTunes.  iShareTunes lets you share music with your buds all over our increasingly-networked planet Earth–you can see their fav tracks, collect badges, get high scores, and become an “official trendsetter”. Now available for your iPad or iPhone on iTunes (duh), with Doug’s Favorite MSRP of free.  At that price, why not check it out? Full information below. Clemson University senior Chris Beauchamp is launching iShareTunes 2.0, a quick and easy music sharing app for iPhone and iPad where you can share and play music with friends Continue reading on Gear Diary …